SOUS LA BOTTE NAZIE – Patriotic Drama in 4 Acts – Under the Nazi Boot, a Play About the Struggles of Belgian Citizens Under Nazi Occupation, by Paul Dellettre. Belgium [1945] – First Edition. French. Extremely Rare.
A script for a play featuring 14 characters, set in Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1944, where the terror of the Gestapo, controlling every corner, serves as the backdrop. The play portrays the uncertainty about Belgium’s future and that of all Europe “under the Nazi boot, ” presenting two fateful possibilities: Hitler continues his conquests across Europe and is destined to win the war, placing the entire continent under his control. Hitler and his army are on the brink of defeat, the Allies will triumph, peace will return to Europe, and the Nazi enemy will pay for its crimes. The play also explores the ambivalent attitudes of Belgian citizens regarding King Leopold III’s surrender without prior consultation, beginning in September 1944, when Belgium was effectively split in two: those believing Belgium’s security depended on Nazi Germany’s victory and others determined to resist at all costs, even against Bolshevism—an issue that sparked a political crisis after the war. The plot follows a Belgian resistance fighter trying to escape from occupied Belgium. In the play’s conclusion, the flags of Belgium and the Allies proudly wave in the wind, while heartfelt words of appreciation are delivered for the brave soldiers who fought and fell honorably against the brutal Nazi enemy: “Sylvain, you are the symbol of all those who died in the great struggle, of all those who continue this terrible fight, of all those who still suffer, imprisoned or deported under the Nazi heel. To all those whose sacrifices enabled this beautiful, grand, and unforgettable redemption, I say thank you!…”
Extremely rare. Only one record exists in the WorldCat global library catalog, housed at the University of Cambridge.
51 pages. Very good condition.
